Albany man arrested in connection to 2008 rape of minor

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - A man has been arrested in connection to a rape that happened in Albany.

Tony Jerod Riggins, 41, was arrested on Thursday in connection to the December 2008 rape of a minor. The victim originally reported the rape to the Albany Police Department (APD) police in December 2016.

In January 2023, APD announced that they were searching for Riggins.

The victim told police that she first met Riggins when she was 14 years old. Riggins reportedly obtained her number from someone else and asked her if she wanted something to eat. He later met her at the Krystals on Slappey Boulevard.

They both then went to a hotel across the street from the restaurant. While at the hotel, Riggins sold some drugs to an unknown man, who then went into the bathroom to take the drugs, according to APD.

Riggins then told the victim that she should have sex with him and she told him that she was 14 years old and she didn’t want to. He then forced himself on her and she yelled “No.”

The male who bought the drugs from Riggins came out of the bathroom but was too high to help her. By the time he stopped, an unknown man from next door came over and checked to see what happened, but it was too late.

The report says, after the incident, Riggins told her that if she tried to report it, nothing would happen because he knew people who worked in the jail. She also told police that the rape resulted in a pregnancy.

The child was 9 years old at the time of the report.

The victim received a Facebook message from one of Riggin’s children’s mothers asking for her number, however, it was Riggins contacting her from that account.

Riggins contacted her through a phone call on the same day that she made the report.

Riggins is currently being held at the Dougherty County Jail.